Live Middle East: American politicians extremely critical of possible International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu

08:41

American politicians extremely critical of possible International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu

Members of the US Congress have spoken out strongly about reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague plans to issue arrest warrants for high-ranking Israelis. The White House also says it ‘does not support’ the ICC investigation. Mike Johnson, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, has called on President Biden to “immediately and unequivocally” call for an end to the investigation. Johnson fears that the arrest warrants will set a precedent that will also lead to American politicians being summoned.

The International Criminal Court would, among other things, prepare arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Israeli media and members of the Israeli government reported this yesterday. The arrest warrants are said to be related to the Israeli warfare in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government’s refusal to allow sufficient food shipments to the area.

Both Israel and the US have not ratified the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, and can therefore ignore the arrest warrants. American politicians have already drawn up legislation in response to possible arrest warrants, reports the American news site Axios. Some Republican members of Congress are speculating about imposing sanctions against ICC officials involved in the investigation. A Democratic congressman wants the US to approach other countries to ask them to reconsider their support for the ICC.

Daan de Vries

Also read: Israel nervous about reports that International Criminal Court is preparing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu

06:12

US university suspends students for pro-Palestinian protest

Columbia University in New York on Monday began suspending students who refuse to take down their tents on campus. Students had set up the tent camp in protest against Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Rector Nemat Minouche Shafik said in a statement that negotiations took place between student organizations and the university board for days, but that these ultimately did not lead to a solution.

The university had warned students on Monday morning that they had to leave the protest camp by 2 p.m. and sign a form in which they agreed to abide by the rules or face suspension.

The first major American student protests around Gaza took place earlier this month at Columbia, one of the prestigious Ivy League universities in the US. These have since spread to educational institutions across the country. About 350 demonstrators were arrested this weekend.

On Monday, there was a clash in Austin, Texas, between protesting students and police, who deployed pepper spray and made dozens of arrests. (AP)

02:43

Egypt calls Gaza ceasefire talks hopeful

Egypt has high hopes for the proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that Hamas representatives brought from Cairo, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said late on Monday evening. Egyptian intelligence sources tell news agency Reuters know to expect a response from the Palestinian organization within two days.

A senior Hamas official already reported to the news agency on Sunday AFP that the movement has ‘no major problems’ with Israel’s latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. This involves a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron confirmed on Monday.

“We are hopeful that the proposal will take into account the position of both sides and move both sides to moderation,” Shoukry said. “There are factors on both sides that will have consequences. But I hope everyone seizes this moment to recognize that we cannot continue with this situation that continues to cost lives.”

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been acting as mediators for a truce between Israel and Hamas for months. So far, a deal has only been completed once. A week-long truce was in effect in November. That week, more than a hundred hostages were released in exchange for three times as many Palestinian prisoners. (AP)

11:39 PM, Yesterday

US found misconduct in five units of Israeli forces

The United States has determined that five units of the Israeli army are responsible for gross violations of the human rights of Palestinians. This concerns abuses in the occupied West Bank before the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip in October.

‘Effective’ intervention and ‘corrective’ measures have been taken in four units. The possibility of American sanctions has therefore been removed, according to the Foreign Ministry in Washington. Discussions continue between the Israeli and US governments regarding the fifth army unit, about which Israel provided additional information.

A ministry spokesperson declined to provide details about the violations committed by the units and what measures were taken. It has also not been revealed which units are involved, but it is believed that the fifth army unit is the Netzah Yehuda battalion. That battalion was founded in 1999 for ultra-Orthodox soldiers. (AP)

Read more here about the infamous Netzah Yehuda Battalion that follows its own rules with impunity.

11:38 PM, Yesterday

Welcome to the live blog of Tuesday April 30

This was the most important news of Monday April 29:

• Israel is willing to agree to a 40-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 33 Israeli civilians held hostage by Hamas. That demand is lower than the original demand, which involved forty hostages. The number has been adjusted downwards because a number of the hostages died in captivity.

• At least 27 people have been killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes on three houses in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Doctors in the area informed the Reuters news agency on Monday. More than a million Palestinians have fled to Rafah in the past six months, because the city had been declared safe by Israel.

• Food aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) resumes its work in Gaza. At the beginning of this month, WCK suspended work in Gaza after seven employees were killed in an Israeli drone attack on an organization’s convoy.

Read Monday’s full live blog here.